The Escort RS1600 was a performance version of the Mark I Escort, with RS standing for Rallye Sport. It used a 1,601 cc Cosworth BDA engine with a 16-valve head, a strengthened bodyshell and sports suspension, and was built at Ford's Aveley plant in South Essex.
The 1965 Shelby Mustang GT350 is a race-focused fastback built by Shelby American. It uses a modified 289 cu in V8. It wins SCCA B-Production for three years. It abandons comfort entirely. After 1967, Shelby’s involvement ends and Ford reduces later models to styling upgrades.
The Ford XY Falcon GT is a 1970–1971 Australian sports sedan built by Ford Australia on the Falcon XY platform. Its GTHO Phase III variant — 300 units built May–November 1971 — won the 1971 Bathurst 500 outright. It used a 351 Cleveland V8 rated at 224 kW (300 bhp) at 5400 rpm. Total production was 1,557 units. A limited number were exported to South Africa with Fairmont GT badging.
The first-generation Ford Mustang is a compact, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive saloon designed under Joe Oros and launched by Ford in March 1964. It originated as a two-seat, mid-mounted engine roadster prototype, then remodeled into a four-seat car.
The Boss 429 Mustang is a 1969–1970 homologation special built solely to qualify Ford’s semi-hemispherical 429 cu in V8 for NASCAR. Its engine was too wide for the Mustang’s engine bay—requiring Kar Kraft to widen the front end. Priced at nearly $5,000 and limited to 1,359 units, it sacrificed usability, cost, and serviceability for one purpose: counting toward NASCAR’s 500-car rule. Larry Shinoda, who named the Boss line as a homage to Bunkie Knudsen, did not design this car—but its existence follows directly from the logic he established with the Boss 302.
The Ford Shelby GR-1 is a Ford-built concept car. It appeared first as clay at Pebble Beach 2004. It ran as a prototype at Detroit 2005. Its shape recalls the Shelby Daytona. Its chassis comes from the 2004 Shelby Cobra Concept. Its V10 engine shares components with the Ford GT. It makes 605 hp and 501 lb⋅ft. Superformance later built a V8 version in 2019 because no production V10 was available.
The first-generation Ford Thunderbird (1955–1957) is a two-seat convertible — Ford’s first since 1938 — developed in response to the 1953 Motorama Corvette display. Dubbed 'a personal car of distinction', it prioritised driver comfort over speed and established the personal luxury car segment in the US. Built on existing Ford components with body-on-frame construction, it sold 16,155 units in 1955 — vastly outpacing the Corvette. Its design inspired the German Auto Union 1000 Sp. It remained the only two-seat Thunderbird until 2002.
The Ford RS200 is a purpose-built homologation special: mid-engined, all-wheel drive, plastic-fiberglass body by Ghia, built by Reliant in Shenstone to meet FIA Group B’s 200-unit rule. It exists only to enable a rally car—not as a design statement, luxury product, or road-going evolution.
The 1966 Ford Bronco is Ford’s first SUV. It launched as a compact, off-road vehicle using its own chassis. It was built at Ford’s Michigan Truck Plant in Wayne, Michigan.
A rally-bred, mechanically singular hatchback—built to satisfy Group A, not taste.
A mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive racing car developed by Ford between 1963 and 1964 under Roy Lunn’s direction, built in Slough then Dearborn, to beat Ferrari at Le Mans.
The Ford GT90 is a 1995 concept car that launched Ford’s 'New Edge' design language. It uses a carbon-fibre body over an aluminium monocoque, and mounts a 5.9-litre V12 mid-ship. It shares only roof-cutting doors with the GT40. It was never intended for production or racing. As of 2025, it resides in the Hajek Motorsports Museum.
The 1969–1970 Boss 302 Mustang is a Trans-Am homologation special designed by Larry Shinoda. It used a unique thin-wall, high-nickel 302 cu in (4.9 L) H.O. V8 with solid lifters, 4-bolt main bearings, threaded freeze plugs, and canted-valve heads. It was sold only in a complete package including a four-speed manual, upgraded suspension, brakes, and aerodynamic aids. A total of 7,013 units were sold.
A purpose-built Group A weapon disguised as a saloon — engineered for stability, not style.
The Ford GT (2005) is a mid-engine two-seater designed by Camilo Pardo as a modern homage to the GT40, launched for Ford’s centenary. It recalls the GT40’s Le Mans legacy but shares no structural lineage. It is bigger, wider, and 4 in (100 mm) taller than the original — a deliberate recalibration, not a replication.
The Ford Model A (1927–1932) was Ford’s deliberate departure from the Model T. Edsel Ford led its body design with József Galamb. It introduced four-wheel mechanical brakes, a sliding-gear transmission, laminated windshields, and a water-cooled L-head inline-four. It sold 4,858,644 units between October 1927 and March 1932. It marked the end of the Model T’s dominance and the beginning of Ford’s driver-oriented era.
The Ford Model T is the foundational mass-market automobile—engineered for repairability, built for scale, and priced for the middle class. Its innovations were procedural (assembly line) and mechanical (planetary transmission, detachable cylinder head), not aesthetic or performance-led.